Xavier Becerra Leads California Governor Jungle Primary After Eric Swalwell Fallout

California’s crowded gubernatorial “jungle” primary on June 2 has former Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra leading in multiple final polls after the fall of former Rep. Eric Swalwell amid allegations of sexual assault, with the San Francisco Chronicle reporting Becerra at 23% in a Public Policy Institute of California poll, 25% in a Berkeley Institute of Governmental Studies poll, and 28% in an Emerson College Polling poll.

““Hi, I am here to do whatever it takes to help you become our governor,” Gris Vogt, a part-time content creator, wrote in a direct message to Xavier Becerra’s Instagram account”

Daily Kos

The San Francisco Chronicle said no other candidate received more than 22% of the vote in any of the polls, while it also reported that support for Riverside County sheriff Chad Bianco hovered at 11% to 13% across the polls.

Daily Kos

The Desert Sun reported that three separate polls released between May 29 and June 1 showed a tight race among Republican Steve Hilton, and Democrats Xavier Becerra and Tom Steyer, with a CSU Long Beach-USC-Cal Poly Pomona survey of 735 voters giving Becerra 27%, Hilton 23%, and Steyer 15%.

The Desert Sun also said an Emerson College Polling Center survey released May 30 had Becerra at 29%, while Steyer captured 22% and Hilton was 1 percentage point behind at 21%, and it quoted Spencer Kimball saying, "Xavier Becerra maintains frontrunner status in the final Emerson poll ahead of Tuesday’s primary."

As the June 2 deadline approached, Daily Kos described how Gris Vogt, a part-time content creator, was added to a Signal group chat called “Becerra’s Baddies” after Xavier Becerra responded to her direct message.

Daily Kos reported that Becerra’s team said the influencers supporting his message are not paid or officially affiliated with the campaign, except for Jay Gonzalez, who was hired to “provide advice and strategy on our digital outreach effort,” and it quoted senior communications director Jonathan Underland saying, "Jay Gonzalez was hired by Becerra to "provide advice and strategy on our digital outreach effort,"".

El Observador Online

Daily Kos also tied the influencer ecosystem to a separate controversy involving Tom Steyer, saying The Washington Post released a report on May 15 about a newly launched investigation into the thousands of dollars Steyer’s team paid to digital creators, including Carlos Espina’s disclosure that he was to be paid $400,000.

In the same Daily Kos account, it described how Becerra’s Baddies would share “attacks” against Becerra that were hitting the media by way of Steyer’s campaign, while it also quoted Jay Gonzalez in a written statement saying, "I added the disclosure to every post featuring Becerra the moment I was hired."

The Desert Sun said California’s top-two primary system means the top two vote-getters move on to the general election in November regardless of party affiliation, creating the possibility of two Democrats or a Republican pairing depending on how voters break in the June 2 jungle primary.

“In California, the race for the governor's seat has become a headache for the Democratic camp”

France 24

The Desert Sun reported that Hilton had been calling voters to not cast a ballot for his Republican counterpart, writing on X on May 31, "A message to every Chad Bianco supporter: I respect your support for Chad, but there is now no possibility of two Republicans in the top 2," and it said Bianco urged Hilton supporters to do the opposite hours later.

The San Francisco Chronicle framed the stakes through polling and betting odds, reporting that on markets like Kalshi and Polymarket ordinary people were putting money down yielding a “two-thirds probability that Becerra advances and wins the November race,” even as Sacramento political strategist Paul Mitchell warned betting markets reflect the views of “crypto bros.”

In the Hispanic L.A. interview series, Becerra told Pilar Marrero that he would “declare a housing emergency” and said “there are about 40,000 housing units ready for construction,” while he also argued that he would try to freeze “the premiums for homeowners and auto insurance” during that emergency, linking the campaign’s policy promises to what he said voters are facing.